A huge proportion of the LGD's now are imported from Eastern Europe, mainly Romania, Bulgaria and, before the war with Ukraine, a lot were coming in from Russia. Then there's the Kangal dogs from Turkey. The dog with the strongest bite force in the world, allegedly. It's really not a good situation. These are not, in the main, suited to being family pets.
The problem with the Romanian dogs particularly is that a lot of them are not pure bred. That can be a worry. You've heard me say many times that LGD are specifically bred to have a low prey drive, because of what their role is and this is the reason why I'm against crossing them. There is now a designer cross called Pyredoodle and, not to put to fine a point on it, that scares the shit out of me! You take a giant guarding breed with almost zero prey drive, cross it with a high energy sporting dog with relatively strong prey drive.... then market it as some sort of gigantic, fluffy cute, hypoallergenic doodle dog. But you don't tell people it's a guard dog. That is dangerous thinking. Those Romanian dogs are LGD and who knows what. Street dog, hound, fighting dog.
Anyway, the most established LGD breeds in the UK have, for a very long time, been Pyrenean and Maremma and, to a lesser extent, the Estrela, Anatolian and Komondor. The PMD is arguably the most widely known and most "refined" of the LGD breeds, in that it is a little more suited to a domestic setting within a family home. The breed also had a history in the Royal Court of France with Louis XV using them to guard the chateaux. It is also, thankfully, the "prettiest" and thus seems to have less appeal to the macho hard men. They, in the main, like the Caucasians and Kangals. Some classify Cane Corso as a LGD also but neither that nor the Caucasian are true LGD. They are more property guards and have a fighting history also.
We cannot understand why some of these are not banned when the Tosa and Fila are but the Dangerous Dogs act really needs an overhaul.
Anyway, the situation with LGD being imported and ending up in rescue with problems is a worry for us. It could have wider implications for those of us who are long term, responsible owners of the long established Pyrenean, Maremma and Estrela. It won't take much for the LGD breeds, or just all guarding dogs to be classified as dangerous and need to be compulsorily muzzled.
These dogs need owners who are clued up on their heritage. You have to treat them with respect, you really cannot push them around. You should never forget that they are a guard dog; even the softest PMD should still be properly introduced to visitors to your home. It is essential that you know from the outset what you are getting into with a LGD, and these Romanian rescues are being taken in by families who think they are doing something kind and lovely but literally do not have a clue what these dogs are like to live with. Hence, they end up in rescue with problems.
It is worrying me a lot for the future of my breed. It has never had a bad reputation but that could so easily change.